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Peek-A-Boo Bags and La Conner Quilt Museum "Aussie Outback" Challenge

I that these bags may well mark the beginning of my return to the cloth and sewing that I love so well.

Some time agon my friend, Janet, made one of these bags for me and I have wanted to make some ever since. I finally got around to it!

The pattern is simple enough, and I like the vinyl window. I used the one Janet made for me for smaller knitting projects. Now I have found the Peek-a-Boo bags to be a handy way to store threads that I will be using in the near future, and for patterns, the cut pieces, and matching thread and zipper. This bag has a lot os uses that's for sure!

The pattern is from Terri Staats and it is called the "Peek-a-Boo" bag for obvious reasons. I am considering some changes to the pattern and will, I hope be tinkering with this pattern in the near future making it more knitting friendly perhaps, maybe with a grommet for the yarn to come through on the upper back or something.

Next up is free motion quilting a sewing machine cover which is designed to get back my "free motion mojo" so that I can finish up some felted bags. I've had the felted pieces and linings all set to go for more time that I want to admit to, so getting them free motion quilted and finished will make me happy!

I love circles, and they are, for me, a real representation of my life. Some circles (cycles) close while other open, and it's all good.

I do have one, wonderful new habit that I have acquired since my retirement (a month tomorrow!). My routine used to always be that I would get up and sip my coffee as I went through my email. Now, I enjoy my coffee, the singing of the birds, and a good book while I sit comfortably on the deck in the morning. I get to the computer and my emails later than I used to, but I so enjoy beginning my mornings in such a lovely, relaxed way. What a blessing to be able to do!

The La Conner Quilt Museum is having an Aussie Outback Challenge using these two fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia. While I am a big fan of aboriginal fabrics and patterns, these colors leave me very uninspired. I can take the fabric on the left, but the one on the right is the real 'challenge' for me. Of course I suspect that the colors are part of the reason that they were chosen for the challenge too!

I tired a couple of simple free form quilt designs, but nothing really made me happy , and so I am going in a completely different, mixed media, direction . I am not sure that I will actually get this done by the August 15th deadline. It depends how enthusiastic I get myself to be, and then I question if this is really worth the amount of time that I will need to expend in order to make what I sort of have in my head a reality. We'll see. See how I have gotten into the "non-committal" sense of retirement!

What colors would YOU use with these fabrics? Can you of a design that would work well for these two fabrics? The rules read that "...a recognizable amount of both Aboriginal fabrics must be used as an integral part of your entry - not just for the border or binding...".

Why not enter this challenge too? It's for the benefit of the La Conner Quilt Museum and the fabrics and postage cost only $11.00. Join me? If not tell me your thoughts!

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